Pros And Cons Of Labor Unions
Disadvantages of Labor Unions
Ever since their initial establishment, there has been much dispute whether labor unions are a positive or negative social economic force in the United States. There are many disadvantages that labor unions pose on the individual, the organization, and society as a whole. This paper discusses the negative effect of having labor Unions in the United States.
The union 's top weapons, strikes, can be self-disastrous. The reason being is that "employers of striking workers have the legal right to continue to operate their business with permanent replacement employees who need not be discharged once the strike ends." In this case, employees on strike are not eligible to return since their previous jobs have been …show more content…
He gives an example of the failed “air-traffic controllers’ strike during the Reagan administration”. The union in this case was simply not able to prevent the Federal Aviation Administration from employing new workers. Unfortunately, in such instances, unions may tend to violence as a means of eliminating competition. Williams illustrates this during several incidents. Back in 1987, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck an Anchorage Alaska utility plant. Non-striking workers were routinely attacked and had their tires slashed. One employee had to move after union members threatened to rape and murder his wife. In his report “Freedom from Union Violence” released by Cato Institute, David Kendrick, program director at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, affirms that there have been 8,799 incidents of violence reported since 1975, with only 258 convictions. Obviously this first disadvantage of union representation impacts not only the individual, but the organization through acts of vandalism and society by victimizing innocent …show more content…
With regards to society, Terry Moe, underlines in his article “EDUCATION: Taking on the Unions” that the teachers’ union have interests that are “often in conflict with the public interest”. Moe raises the concern that the union does not permit the riddance or even the evaluation of bad teachers, which apparently is not good for the kids and schools. As for the economy and organizations, Thomas Sowell touches on this issue by explaining that union contracts have helped put American automakers at a disadvantage compared to its Japanese competitors, resulting in General Motors “going from selling about half the cars in the country to selling about one quarter today”. The UAW simply did not exhibit flexibility at a time when change was needed most. The consequences were terrible to the economy and organizations like The Auto industry: numerous plants closing, hundreds of thousands of employees being laid off, the moving of plants to states that have no union control, and the moving of plants
Ever since their initial establishment, there has been much dispute whether labor unions are a positive or negative social economic force in the United States. There are many disadvantages that labor unions pose on the individual, the organization, and society as a whole. This paper discusses the negative effect of having labor Unions in the United States.
The union 's top weapons, strikes, can be self-disastrous. The reason being is that "employers of striking workers have the legal right to continue to operate their business with permanent replacement employees who need not be discharged once the strike ends." In this case, employees on strike are not eligible to return since their previous jobs have been …show more content…
He gives an example of the failed “air-traffic controllers’ strike during the Reagan administration”. The union in this case was simply not able to prevent the Federal Aviation Administration from employing new workers. Unfortunately, in such instances, unions may tend to violence as a means of eliminating competition. Williams illustrates this during several incidents. Back in 1987, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck an Anchorage Alaska utility plant. Non-striking workers were routinely attacked and had their tires slashed. One employee had to move after union members threatened to rape and murder his wife. In his report “Freedom from Union Violence” released by Cato Institute, David Kendrick, program director at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, affirms that there have been 8,799 incidents of violence reported since 1975, with only 258 convictions. Obviously this first disadvantage of union representation impacts not only the individual, but the organization through acts of vandalism and society by victimizing innocent …show more content…
With regards to society, Terry Moe, underlines in his article “EDUCATION: Taking on the Unions” that the teachers’ union have interests that are “often in conflict with the public interest”. Moe raises the concern that the union does not permit the riddance or even the evaluation of bad teachers, which apparently is not good for the kids and schools. As for the economy and organizations, Thomas Sowell touches on this issue by explaining that union contracts have helped put American automakers at a disadvantage compared to its Japanese competitors, resulting in General Motors “going from selling about half the cars in the country to selling about one quarter today”. The UAW simply did not exhibit flexibility at a time when change was needed most. The consequences were terrible to the economy and organizations like The Auto industry: numerous plants closing, hundreds of thousands of employees being laid off, the moving of plants to states that have no union control, and the moving of plants